Web drier



G. D. HARRIS WEB DRIER Filed Feb 27, 1 922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 /M//v 70a 6.Blame/5,

- G. D. HARRIS WEB DRI ER Filed Feb. 27, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 QML Deg;9, 3 924..

G. D. HARRIS WEB DRI ER 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb, 27, 1922 De 9, 1.924.swma G. D. HARRIS WEB DRIER Filed Feb. 2" "1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 i I I 1WSW Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES v a 1,518,580 PATENT OFFICE.

GoRDoN D. HARRIS, or IsLIr, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T INDUSTRIAL DRYER coR-IPORATION, or NEW. ARK, NEW JERSEY, A coRroRArIon or NEW JERSEY.

- wan DRIER.

Application filed. February 27, 1922. Serial No. 539,668.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, Gonnon DON.HA RRIS,

a citizen of the United States, residin at Islip, county of Nassau, andState of fiew 6 York, have invented a certain new and useful Web Drier,of which, the following is a specification.

This invention is a drying apparatus, and, more particularly, a drierwherein material in web form is hung or suspended in festoons, loops, orthe like, from a carrier or carriers adapted for transporting saidmaterialwithin a drying chamber.

The apparatus is useful in drying differcially adapted for drying suchfibrous materials as paper, and more particularly paper coated on one orboth surfaces thereof, for which purpose there is associated with thedrying apparatus a traveling conveyer running from a press or coatingmachine directly to and into the d ing chamber, the capacity of thedrier an the speed of the drying operation being so related to theoutput 2 of the press or coating machine that the latter machine may, innearly all cases, be speeded up to meet the capacity of the drier,whereby increased output is obtained by an apparatus which occupies a.minimum floor :o space The drying apparatus in conjunction with a pressor coating machine operates to deliver a given or specified output'ofthe product, i. e., paper or coated paper, irrespective of weatherconditions, and to accord such treatment to the material as to conditionsaid material whereby the product is of uniform character, and, at thesame time, economy is obtainedtin the consumption of the heating agent,(steam) and the drying operation is, furthermore, carried into practiceunder conditions which eliminate, to a great extent, the hot humidcondition of the atmosphere usually prevailing in rooms or lofts fordrying paper and other materials in web form. According to thisinvention, provision is made for conditioning the drying atmosphere byregulating the temperature and the humidity thereof to the end that theheat units, required to lift or evaporate from the material a knownquantity of moisture within a s ecified time, areconstantly supplied tosai drying atmosphere, whereas the humidity or moisture content of suchdrying atmosphere is modified by the admixture'of ent'materialsin web.form, but it is espe fresh air with moist air drawn from the dryingchamber, to the end that the drying atmosphere flowing into contact withthe material is suited to the condition of the paper and to thecharacter of the coating thereon, whereby the paper is dried uniformly.In the treatment of coated material, the coating is not dried merely onthe surface thereof, the effect of which would be to leave theinteriorof the coating in a soft condition occasioned by the presence ofmoisture; but, on the contrary, the moisture is evapoi ated from thebody or interior of the coating, so as to (by such coating uniformly andthoroughly. The flow of the drying atmosphere is controlled anddistributed with respect to the festoons of material while the latter isundergoing transportation within the drying chamber, to the end that theatmosphere is delivered downwardly upon the web, the downwardly flowingair being controlled and directed for .contact with the web throughoutthe width, from side to side thereof, and from top to the bottomthereof, -as a result of which the suspended festoons are dried asrapidly at the middle regions thereof as they are at the edges,attaining a desirable conditioning of the web material, or a desirableconditioning of the coating on such web material, with uniformity andrapidity inthe conduct of the drying operation.

In the feed of' the drying atmosphere downwardly upon the web, and inthe distribution of suzh atmosphere in a manner to flow into contactwith the surface of the web from side to side thereof, I employ a flueor duct extending in overhead relation to the web carrier and spacedrelatively thereto, said duct or flue being provided in the thin plateconstituting the bottom thereof with orifices for the outflow of thedrying atinoshere in such manner that said atmosphere 1s dispersed withrespect to the width of the web, rather than concentrated in definiteareas with'respect to the middle portion of said web, whichconcentration of the outllow obtained heretofore by the use of monies,has a tendency to compact the tibres of a paper web, or to compact thccoating tin-rton, so as to result in the production of spots or streaksin the web or the coating thereon. It is preferred to employ oriliccs instaggered relation to the path of-tbe underlying web, said orificesbeing in series lengthwise of the drying chamber and crosswise of saidchamber, and the,crossw1se series of orifices being out of line or stagered, as a result of 1 festoons and the delivery of thedrying atmosphereupon the .web moving below the orifices is so controlled that the air isnot blown constantly into contact with the given area of the web, therebeing certain periods in the movement of the web below certain of saidlongitudinal series of the orifices wherein air does not flow constantlyinto contact with the samesurfaces of said web, althou h over otherareas of the webthere exists t e required feed of air, and on the wholeair is supplied constantly throughout certain areas of said web.

Provision is made for the efficient channeling within the drying chamberof the flow of the drying atmosphere to suit web materials which vary inwidth within certain limits, and to this end there is pro vided, at oneor both sides of the path of the web carrier, a barrier or curtain in adesired parallelrelation to the path ofthe suspended material, eachbarrier or curtain, where twoare used, 'being shiftable relatively tothe path of web movement and at all times parallel thereto, to the, endthat there will be no spaces of appreciable width for the escape of thedrying atmosphere laterally from the edges of the suspended festoons,the drying atmosphere being exhausted from the drying chamber below saidsuspended festoons, with a view to removin moisture laden air from thepresmee of the web material.

For attaining the desired humid condition of the drying atmosphere,means are provided for effecting the discharge from the so-called wetend of the dryin chamber of the atmosphere charged wit moistureevaporated from the material as it passes into and within a given lengthof the drying chamber, such atmosphere flowing within the wet end of thechamber taking up the heavy lift of moisture from the more or less wetmaterial; but the atmosphere flowing out of the dry end, so-called, ofthe chamber carries a relatively decreased moisture content, suchoutfiowing atmosphere with its decreased moisture content being utilizedby recirculating the same, and such recirculated atmosphere beingmodified as regards its moisture content by mixing fresh atmospheric airtherewith, and by reheating the mixed atmosphere in the period of itsrecirculation, whereby the atmosphere is conditioned both as respectsten'ipcrature and humidity, and I am enabled to secure economy of theheating agent (steam), as well as to attain constant and unlform dryingof the web material under conditions and at temperatures best suited forthe materials, and to carry on the drying operation efiiciently andregardless of weather conditions. A

In a practical form of apparatus adapted for drying such web'material aspaper, or coated paper, I employ a housing having a continuous chamber,within which chamber operates a traveling conveyer. In a preferred form,the web carrying means is embodied in a plurality of conveyers, one ofwhich conveyers is adapted for carrying festoons whichare spaced inrelatively wide or open order to each other and within the wet end,so-called--of the chamber, 8 whereas the other conveyer is constructedfor carrying festoons in closer order or relation to each other. andwithin the dry end, so-ealled, of said chamber.

The apparatus is located within a drying room or loft, and adjacent-apress or coat: ing machine, so that the conveyer is loaded with materialdirectly from said ress or machine. The conveyers positione within thedrying chamber operate to carry said 9 material at a desired speedtherein, and the operation of drying the material is conducted whollywithin the housing of the drier, some of the moisture laden-air beincarried by appropriate fines from said housing and being discharged intothe outer atmosphere, whereby the material is 'condi-- tioned and driedwithin the housing and the air from the machine is not discharged intothe drying room or loft. The employment 1 of a plurality of conveyersfor carrying the festoons in open order and in a closer order within thechamber, and the control of the drying atmosphere for conditioning thematerial, enables me to use a housing of re- 1 duced dimensions asregards the area of a drying loft, so as to materiall economize thefloor area taken up by the rier, and at the same time the capacity andthe speed of the apparatus for drying and conditioning the material isso increased and related to the output of the press or the coatingmachine, that the latter can be increased in speed, and consequently inoutput, thereby resulting in a desirable increase in the out- 3 put ofthe material coupled with economy of space occupied by the drier.

Other functions and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the j drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional elevation taken in theirregular plane indicated by the dotted line 1-1 of Figure 6 extendingthrough the drying chamber of a web drying apparatus embodying myinvention.

Figure is a horizontal sectional plan view taken in the irregular planeindicated by the dotted line 2-2 of Figure 3.

. nally thereof of the side walls, said wall dividing the inthe entry ofthe Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectionthrough the apparatus takenin the irregular plane indicated by the dotted line 3-3 of Figure 6.

Figure 4 partly in-elevation, termediate the delivery end is a detailvertical section,

through-the gearing in- .of one con- ,veyer and the loading end of anadjacent conveyer.

Figure, 5 is a detail view illustrating another embodiment of-means forsupporting one of the curtains so that it may bezshifted to differentoperative positions relative to ing a drying atmosphere crosswise oftheweb.

' The housing A of the drying apparatus is of any appropriate dimensionsand construction. baid housing is provided interwith a wall, a, parallelto one terior of said housing into a material chamber, B, and a chamberC, the latter being divided into-compartments for. the. accommodation ofa plurality of heaters, L, L,

Chamber B is open at the respective ends thereof, the ingress openingbeing at b for material in 100p form, and the egress opening indicatedat b for the outgoing material, said festoons of material at theentrance I) and exit I) of said chamber B serving as a means forsubstantially excluding the open ends I) I1 of the drying chamber.

The material is carried into, from and within chamber B by a'conveyer ofone form or another; but in a practical embodiment of the conveyer meansit is preferred to employ two conveyors, indicated at D D. As is usualin the paper and textile drying art, the web of material is suspended infestoons or loops within the treating chamber, for which purpose I em-.ploy sticks, so-called, over which the web of material is looped. In myinvention, the festoons whenentering the chamber, and while undergoingtransportation within' the fwet end, so-called, of said chamber, aresuspended in open order, by which *I mean the festoons are spaced apartin relatively wide order, so that the drying atmosphere may circulatefreely between and within such relatively widely separated loops,whereas the festoonsafter partial drying thereof and while being carriedwithin the so-called dry end of said chamber, are suspended in closerorder or relation to. each other, such closer order of the festoons alsoproviding for the circulation therebetween inflow of fresh air at saidare in the same horizontal plane,

grouped sticks at E in said Figure 1, the

sticks E being associated with conveyer D and sticks E with conveyer D.The sticks are transferred from conveyer D at the delivery end thereofto conve er D' at the loading-end of the lat-ten' y. suspending thefestoons in close order within a definite part of the chamber, thecapacity of said chamberB for containing web material is considerablyincreased. Each conveyer D is shown as consisting of an endless seriesof links, the load carrying run of conveyer D is inthe same plane' asthe load carrying run of conveyer D, whereb the sticks on thelnconnng-conveyer are adapted to be transferred from said conveyer D tothe load carrying run of the outgoing conveyer D, as shown in Figure 1.I

Theendless chains comprising the conveyer D are supported at one end bysprockon a shaft 0 which is journaled in a bearing 0 of bracket 0* fixedto a wall of the-chamber. This stub shaft 0 is provided with a pinion(l, the latter meshing with the internal gear teeth d of a sprocketwheel d which is mounted on a stub shaft (1, the perimeter of thesprocket wheel (Z being flush with the top perimeter of the sprocketwheel 0, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4:. By supporting the sprocket 0for the chains of the conveyer D to occupy the required relation to thesprocket wheel ets 0, each mounted (1 relative to the chains of theconveyer D i the upper runs of the two conveyer-s D D and thus thesticks E of conveyer D are adapted to be transferred to the chains ofthe conveyer D without jarring the suspended material at the time oftransferring the sticks from one conveyer to the other conveyer.

As shown, the sticks for supporting the festoons of web material arefitted in seats on the proper conveyer; but the sticks E for theconveyer Dare spaced at a considerable interval apart, so that thefestoons of material are in open order or separated at relatively wideintervals. The chains of the conveyer D are provided with pockets orseats which are more'closely grouped together than the pockets of theconveyer D.

and thus the sticks E of the conveyer D -material while passing throughthe length of the drying chamber,

tion or length of the drying chamber B, termed thew'et end of themachine,- so that the drying atmosphere is free to circulate intocontact with the suspended open order festoons in a manner to take upthe heavy lift of moisture evaporated from the wet end, so-called, ofthe drying chamber. The .other conveyer D carries the festoons ofmaterial in closer grouped relation and within another definite section'or length of the drying chamber, said definite section of length of thedrying chamber B constitutmg a .dry end of the said chamber. Byarranging the two conveyers for carrying festoons in open order withinone. definite part of the chamber and in close order within anotherdefinite part of the chamber, the capacity of the chamber for containingweb material is substantially increased, so that the drying apparatuswill take care of all the material delivered from the press or thecoating machine. A further advantage is that the-material carried withinthe drying chamber is subject to such treatment-that the material or thecoating thereon is thorou hly and uniformly dried within the de nitesection or length termed the dry end of the drying .chamber, and the capacity of the drying chamber for containing material, and theexpeditious treatment accorded to such material by the drying atniosphere in accordance with this invention, so increase the capacity.of the drying apparatus for handling material that the press or thecoating machine can be speeded up, the net result being that the outputof the press is increased, and the material is dried uniformly andthoroughly during its transportation within the drying chamber.

The heating chamber C extends lengthwise of the drying chamber, parallelthereto, and on one side thereof. The upper part of the heating chamberhas free communication with a supply duct or flue F, the same extendingover the chamber B lengthwise and crosswise thereof. This supply duct isabove the ath of the conveyor, being in overhead re ation to thefestoons of material suspended by the sticks of said conveyer. Saidoverhead arrangement of the supply duct or flue provides for thedischarge of the drying atmosphere downwardly within the drying chamber,and in order to secure a desired distribution of the downward flowingdrying atmosphere, the thin plate or wall constituting the bottom of thefeed duct or flue is provided with orifices 'f f F, see Figures 1, 3 and6. As shown in Figure 3, the thin metal plate f, which forms the bottomof the overhead flue, extends the and for a suitable distance crosswiseof said chamber, said thin metal plate 7 being in spaced relation to theweb carrier, substantially contact with the parallel therewith, so as toprovide a chamber or space intermediate the under surfacev of saidoverhead flue and the path of said web carrier, see Figures 1 and 3.Obviously,

the chamber or space referred to may be of a desired depth, but when theair is supplied through a single row of central orifices it ispreferable to use a chamber or space of such depth that the air issuingfrom the centrally positioned orifices will be free to flow in alldirections and to become scattered within said chamber, as a result ofwhich the air supplied by centrally positioned orifices will flowdownwardly into contact with the web throughout the width-of said web,more particularly at the top thereof, so. that the air is thus adaptedto have the required web from top to bottom and from side to sidethereof. The employment of centrally positioned orifices in the thinmetal bottom I of the overhead flue, does not in my drier perform thefunction of directing the air in well defined streams against the middleportion only of the web, for the rea trolor diree g h'e air with anozzle-like action; but, (in the contrary, the air feeding arrangementwhich I may employ acts to so distribute the air through the space orchamber that said air with the full width of the webat thetop thereof,the air thence flowing downwardly into contact with the web throughoutthe entire depth and the full width thereof.

In my preferred arrangement of the orifices, or parts, they extend inseries len thwise and crosswise of the chamber an to the path of the webas the latter --is carried within said chamber, and below said ports,the preferred port arrangement being illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 6.The ports or orifices are in series, any desired number of series beingused, three being shown in Figure 6, and indicated at f f F. The ports fof one series extend lengthwise of the ch her, the ports being spacedone from the other at desired intervals, (which. intervals in someinstances exceed the spaces'between the suspended festoons, particularlyso in the dry end of the machine), and said ports 1 being in line witheach other, so that a line drawn centrally through the ports of onelongitudinal series is arallel to the axial line of the chamber orsubstantially so. The described order of arrangement of ports frelatively to each other applies equally to the other ports of eachseries of ports f f so far as relates to the order of arrangement ofsaid ports with respect to each other and to the drying chamber, and theports f of the middle ongitud-inal series are spaced apart from theports of the series f, and this applies, also, to the relation of theports f with reference to theports f. As

hat said orifices do not conflows into contact shown, the plurality ofseries of ports f f f are spaced relatively one to the other in adirection crosswise of the web moving be low them, and such spacingresults in the supply of the drying atmosphere crosswise of the web, sothat the atmosphere is mechanically distributed for the full width ofsaid web, more especially at the top thereof. In my ort arrangement, theorifices are staggere or out of line in a direction crosswise of the webas shown clearly in Figure 6; thus adjacent single ports f f fconstitute a transverse series which are relatively positioned for theport f to lie somewhat in the rear and at one side of port f, whereasport 7 is somewhat in the rear and to one side of the port f. The effectof this is not only to distribute the air crosswise of the web, but inaddition thereto, the air is so delivered upon the underlying festoonthat as said festoo-n is advanced below the staggered ports f f f andwithin thedrying chamber, the air is delivered successively to diiferentportions or areas of the same festoon and crosswise thereof, whereby Iam able to control the supply of air to each festoon in a manner toprevent the How of air for such a period against the Web as to compactthe fibres of said web or'the coating thereon, thus to preclude theformation of spots or streaks m the paper or textile, or in the coatingon the aper or fabric. As each festoon is carried slowly below thestaggered ports of each transverse series, the air from port f impingesthe web for a definite area, then as the web continues to advance theair from port f has contact with the same festoon at the middle portionof the web, and finally in the continued movement of the same festoonthe air from port f has contact with still another area or portion ofthe same festoon, this being true of each festoon passing below theports 7 7" f successively, whereby the flow of air is distributed in ageneral direction crosswise of the web, and said air flows successivelyinto contact with different areas of each festoon, the effect of whichis to distribute the fiow of air in a zig-zag course to each of thefestoons as said festoons are carried successively below the successiveseries of staggered ports.

-By distributing the drying atmosphere into contact with the suspendedweb throughout its full widthand depth, said atmosphere is s read overthe entire surface of the festoons 1n a manner to dry such festoonsuniformly throughout the entire area thereof. Such distribution of thedrying atmosphere across the full width of the web, and the downwardflow of such atmosphere between the festoons, requires the downwardlyflowing body of "air to be confined within the limits of the festoons,in, order to preclude the air from spilling out of the festoons at theedges thereof, such confinement or restriction of the downwardly flowingair being desirable to secure the contact of said atmosphere with thefull width of the web from top to bottom thereof. To so confine orrestrict the flow of air, I find it desirable to use curtains positionedin close relation to the web at c the respective edges thereof. For thepurpose of removing moist air from the presence of the material undertreatment, as well as to contribute to the downward flow of air in apositive manner and throughout the full width of the web, such moist airis exhausted from'below the side curtains and below the suspended web,as'will presently a pear. By confining the downwardly owing body of airWithin the limits of the suspended festoons, through the ac? ber, I haveprovided curtains G G at the respective sides of the path of thefestoons suspended from the conveyer. Each curtain is composed offabric, or any other material suitable for the purpose, and the twocurtains at the respective sides of the festoons are parallel to eachother and to said side edges of the suspended web. Each curtain iscarried on a rod g, and said rods are supported by appropriate meanswithin the drying chamber, so that each rod and its complemental curtainmay be shifted into diflerent operative positions, but always parallelwith the suspended web material. As shown in Figure 5, the rod 9 for oneourtain 'is'carried by swivel bracket 9', having vertical pintles gfitted in bearing 9 attached to a wall of the chamber, whereby saidbrackets 9 may turn on vertical axes and the curtain can be shiftedinwardly or outwardly with reference to the path of the web according tothe width of said web, each curtain being at all times parallel to theedge of the suspended material. It will be understood that the swiveledbrackets y are free to turn .in a horizontal plane and on vertical axesafforded by the pintles 9 so that the brackets 9' may be operated atwill, in order to turn them inwardly or outwardly with respect to thepath of the web. The curtain rod g is connected in a suitable mannerwith the swiveled brackets g, and when the brackets are turned in onedirectoons, it strikes the closed loops or bights at: the bottoms ofsaid fe'stoons, as is usual m tion or the other, said curtain rod movestherewith, whereby the rod and the curtain are movable in a horizontalplane and toward or from the path of the web.

Thisadjustment of the curtains is quite an important feature of myapparatus, for

the reason that the web of paper, or other material, to be dried may anddoes vary in width, and by making provision for the movement of thecurtains relatively to the path of the web, said curtains are adapted toco-operate with the webs which vary in width, whereby the curtainsperform theirwhich bound the lower ends of the sus-' pended festoons, soas to leave relatively narrow spaces between saidlower curtain edges andthe closed bights of the festoons'. The air in its downward flow withinthe limits of the festoons, is confined by the curtains against spillinglaterally out of the festoons for practically the full depth of saidfestoons; but to remove the moist air (which becomes partially cooled bythe exchange of heat for moisture) from the presence of the moist webmaterial, I make provision for mechanically exhausting said air belowthe festoons, the air being drawn through said narrow spaces interveningthe lower edges of the curtains and the closed bights at the lower endsof the festoons. In the downward flow of air-within the festhis art, butby exhausting the air mechanically from the respective sides of thefestoons at the lower closed bights and below the side curtains, the airis so controlled in its down flow by the exhausting operation and by thecurtains that said air contacts with the full width of the web, from topto bottom thereof.

The particular means for supporting the curtains in parallel relation tothe path of movement of the suspended material maybe modified asillustrated in Figure 3, wherein the rod 9 of the curtain is supportedby a series of arms h, each inclined downwardly from the curtain rod 9and pivotedat 71. to bearingrh on a wall of the chamber. The adjustmentof the curtain rod g is obtained one or a number of chains h eachattached to the rod 9 and running over a direction sheave h to theoutside of the housing. It will be noted that the adjusting chain orcable h can be slackened. so that the weight of the rod and the curtainwill swing the arms h inwardly, said'arms h turning on the horizontalaxes afforded by pintles h, thus disposing the curtain in close relationto the ed e portion of the suspended material, ut' by pulling downwardlyon the chains or cables h the arms h swing upwardly and outwardly, so asto 'lift the-rod g and shift the curtain away from the edge portion ofthe suspended material.

H, I, designate eduction flues extending longitudinally within thedrying chamber,

at the bottom portion thereof. The eduction flue H on one side of theapparatus is provided with a series of ports a controlled by dampers i,see Figures 1 and 3, and to this flue is connected an exhauster H, theoutlet from which is by way of a flue (not shown) for discharging someof the warm moisture-laden air to the outside of the dry-' ing room orloft. The other flue I is provided with ports 1', controlled by dampersi and, as shown in Figure 2, the dampers 2' in the dry section of thedrying chamber are open, whereas the dampers i in the wet section of thedrying chamber are closed, so that the air laden with less moisture fromthe dry section of the drying chamber is free to pass through theports11 and into the flue I, to be recirculated within the drying chamber.Said eduction flue I is in communication with circulating device J,shown as a fan or blower operated by pulley 7'. The intake j of the, fanor blower is in direct communication with the eduction flue I, whereasthe outlet 7' of said fan or blower is in direct communication withheating chamber C, see Figure 2.

It will be noted that my apparatus pro-f vides means for dischargingsome of the moist air from the drying chamber through the action of fanH exhausting air through theduct H, whereas some of the moist air fromsaid drying chamber is drawn by fan J through the duct I, the air soflowing within duct I being recirculated by blower tent, for the reasonthat such air drawn by said blower from the so-called dry end of thechamber, and it is desirable, first, to modify the air toberecircula-ted by admixture of fresh atmospheric air therewith, thusreducing the moisture content of the air to be delivered back to thedrying chamber, and, second, to control the temperature of the air byreheating or boosting the same prior to the flow of such air back to thedrying chamber, such operation of boosting or reheating the air beingfor the purpose of imparting thereto the heat units necessary to effectthe exchange of heat for moisture during the flow of the modified andreheated air into contact with the material to be treated. The apparatusshown makes provision for conditioning the air to be recirculated. Inone embodiment of means for modifying the moisture content of the air tobe recirculated, the fan or blower J is provided with the fresh airinlet adapted to be controlled by a slide damper K so that the volume offresh air to be mixed with the atmosphere to be recirculated may begoverned by the adjustment of said damper K. The fresh air is mixed withthe warm moist air exhausted from the drying chamber, the admixture offresh air with the moist humid atmosphere taking place within the blowerand the chamber C, so that the air is conditioned as respects itsmoisture content by the admission of fresh atmospheric air to the humidatmosphere.

Means are provided for heating to desired temperatures the dryingatmosphere 'recirculated by the blower J, such heating means being shownas a plurality of heaters L L L The drying atmosphere recirculated bythe blower is channeled or divided prior to its delivery to duct or flueF, by which said atmosphere is returned to the drying chain 1 her bybeing blown downwardly upon the web. Such division or channeling of therecirculated atmosphere takes place within chamber (7. and is due to thedivision of said chamber into compartments by the provision of verticalpartitions 0 the latter being positioned within chamber C intermediatethe wall a and the adjacent side wall of I the housing. Said partitionsare parallel to each other, and they extend from flue plate f at the topdown to the plane of the eduction flue I, see Figure 3, whereby the airset in motion by the blower passes into the lower part of chamber C andthence flows upwardly between the vertical partitions c and through thechannels provided by the compartments into which chamber C is divided.

The air heaters L L L are'of varying capacities, thus producing adifferential heating means, whereby separate streams of the dryingatmosphere recirculated by blower J and divided into streams by thechanneling means, are heated to different temperatures suited to thecondition and temperature in different portions of the productundergoing transportation within the drying chamber. The web enteringthe drying chamber contains the maximum moisture content, for whichreason it is desirable to suspend the festoons in relatively wide orderand thus allow the tree contact of the drying atmosphere therewith, andit is desirable, also, to supply a drying atmosphere heated to arelatively high tempera ture for contact with the surfaces of the wetweb or the coating on such web, whereby the drying atmosphere actsefliciently in the exchange of heat for moisture and carries off theheavy lift of moisture from the web at the wet end of the ap )ara'tus,the dampers i in the e duction flue I l being open at said wet end ofthe chamber for the free egress of the heavy moisture laden air underthe suction of exhauster H, whereas the dampers .5 in the flue I areclosed at the Wet end of the machine. 7

As the moisture content of the web decreases due to the exchange of heatfor moisture at thewet end of the chamber, it is not required to subjectthe web to such hi h temperatures during the movement of said web intosuccessive definite regions or areas of the drying chamber. To meet suchconditions, and to supply a drying atmosphere at temperatures suited tothe moisture content ot the product, I have provided differentialheating means by which, as stated. a stream of the drying atmosphere ata relatively high temperature is supplied to the web within the wet endof the chamber, and by which other streams of the drying atmosphere aresupplied at progressive decreased temperatures to the web in the middleregion or area of the chamber and to the web within the dry or exitportion of said -chamber. In the apparatus shown, the drying atmospherecirculated by blower J flows in separate streams or currents through thecompartments or channels produced'by partitions 0 within chamber C, andthe heaters LL L are positioned within said channels or compartments soas to be in the line of flow of the individual streams or currents. Saidelement L is the heater of maximum heating capacity of the series used,for the element L. and said element L operates to heat air flowing intothe middle region of the chamber to a less temperature than the airheated by L. In like manner, element L is of less heating capacity thanelement L. said element L operatingio heat the air to be supplied to thedry or delivery end portion of chamber B to a decreased temperature; infact, the temperature of the air flowing into the dry area of thechamber may be at or about the temperature of the product; within saiddelivery region.

The heating means employed in conjunction with the means for channelingthe air to flow in divided streams thus coact efliciently for heatingthe separate streams of air to temperatures which decreaseproportionately to a decrease in the moisture content of the web. Thus,at-the part of the web having a maximum moisture content,

the air is supplied at a relatively high temperature; that part of theweb which lies in the middle region of the chamber and which has beendeprived of part of its moisture content is treated by air heated to adet crcased temperature, but which, however, is

to the moisture content of the web present.

in the different regions of the drying chamher, the several streams ofair so supplied being constituted by air exhausted from the dryingchamber so as to carry a desired moisture content, and modified as tosuch moisture content by the admixture therewith of fresh atmospheric"air, whereby the drying atmosphere so circulated by blower J isdelivered to the drying chamber in conditions suited to the moisturecontent and temperature of the product.

The dampers a" of the eduction flue H and the dampers i of therecirculating flue I provide for the controlof the escaping moistureladen air through flue H under the action of exhauster H, as well ascontrolling the volume of air to be recirculated by the blower J. Asshownin Figure 2, the dampers i may be open in flue H for the fulllength thereof, so that exhauster I-I' may discharge a maximum volume ofmoist air, whereas the air to be recirculated by blower J is exhaustedfrom that region of chamber B which contains the part of the web havingthe least moisture content, for which purpose the dampers i are closedat the wet end and the middle region of chamber B while dampers i at thedry end of the chamber are open (see Figure 2), for the blower J toexhaust air with a low moisture content from the dry end of the chamber,which air is drawn through flue I into blower J and recirculated asdescribed. The emplo ment of the independent flues H I and t etwo seriesof dampers provides for a reversal in the conditions of the airdischarge and air recirculation suited to the conditions of treatment ofthe material; thus it may be festoons. 1

having been supplied to the coils constitutthe series of heaters, thecirculating devices H J are set into motion whereby the dryingatmosphere is circulated within the drying chamber. The action of thefan H draws the moisture laden air through the ports 7: into theeduction flue H, whereby a certain proportion of the moisture laden airis discharged from the cham ber. v The circulating device J draws theatmosphere from tlife dry end of the chamber, the atmosphereflowingthrough orts i into flue I and thence into blower Valve K havinbeen opened, more or less fresh air is admitted to the drying atmospherecirculated by blower J, the atmosphere within which divides saidatmosphere into separate streams which flow in an upward direction intocontact with the different heaters. The upward flowin streams of airwithin the chamber C are de ivered intov the overhead flue F, by whichthe streams of air are delivered through the orts downwardly upon theweb to flow within the suspended --mitting said air to pass into thedrying room or loft, but a certain proportion of the moist 4 mg chamberpasses warmair from the. (1 into flue I and is blown by blower J inseparate streams through the chamber C so as to flow into flue F andthence be discharged bein blown into the chamber C, the channels llOdownwardly into the drying chamber, thus eifecting the recirculation ofsome of the warm humid atmosphere. z

During the recirculation of said drying atmosphere it is conditioned bymixing fresh air therewith and by heating the separate streams todifferent temperatures. In case wide material is suspended from thesticks of the conveyer, the operator should adjust the curtains G Gaccording to the width of such material, but when narrow material issuspended from the conveyor the curtains are shifted inwardly and intoclose proximity to the edges of the material, parallel therewith. I

Briefly stated, the drying operation is conducted according to theprinciple that as the reieteo moisture content of the material decreasesso does the temperature of the drying atmosphere decreaseproportionately to such reduction in the moisture content of thematerial, the drying atmosphere at the higher temperature bein fed tothat part of the web material having the maximum moisture content, foreffecting the heavy moisture lift, and the streams of the dryingatmosphere being decreasedin temperature in the successive zones of thechamber, as a result of which economy is attained in the steam requiredfor the efficient conditioning of the drying atmosphere, and theevaporation from the web of material is conducted under such conditionsas to attain a substantially uniform temperature in and of the materialitself whereas the drying atmosphere supplied to the successive zones ofthe drying chamber are decreased in temperature proportionately to adecrease in the moisture content of the material.

My invention involves a mode of drying and conditioning material in webform, such 25- as paper, while the same is being carried through asubstantially closed chamber and with said material suspended infestoons, whereby said Web of paper is not only dried uniformly but itsphysical condition is improved owing to the fact that the dryingatmosphere, usually air, is controlled for downward flow between andwithin the festoons'and for substantially the full width of th web.The-flow of air into contact with the middle portion of the web, andunder such velocity as will carry the air downwardly between thefestoons to the bottoms of the festoons, has a tendency to establishspots or streaks in the surface ofthe web owing to the impact of streamsof air against the wet paper stock. Bydistributing the air in itsdownward flow into contact with the web for the full width thereof, thistendency to compact the fibres ofthe web within definite areas by thevelocity and pressure of the air, is overcome so that the paper is notspotted or streaked. Again, the treatment of the web includes flowing.air downwardly -within the festoons, and exhausting air from the closedbottoms of said festoons at the respective edges thereof in a way tospread the festoons and to preclude offsetting of the coated surfacesthereof, and

to preclude, also, the suspended festoons from swaying within the dryinchamber, thus overcoming all contact of t e festoons with the walls orsurfaces of the drying chamber, so as to minimize any tendency to spoilor injure the paper. Furthermore, the paper is dried and conditioned bythe flow into conta 'ct with the festoons of a drying atmosphere thetemperature and humidity of which is controlled within certain limits,owing to the fact that said drying atmosphere is composed in part ofmoist heated air exhausted from the drying chamber, and in part iscomposed of fresh atmospheric air which is mixed with the moist air, andthe temperature of which modified atmosphere is increased by boosting orheating the same at a period subsequent to exhausting the air from thedrying chamber and the flow of the modified drying atmosphere back tothe chamber by blowing the same downwardly upon the web.

My invention includes a mode of treating a web of paper, or a web ofcoated paper, for drying the same uniformly and without curling the edgeportions of said festoons. This is due to the presence in the dryingatmosphere of a certain moisture content, said atmosphere performing thefunction of a carrier for the heat units which are necessary to effectthe exchange of heat for moisture. In short, the feed of warm moist airinto contact with the web operates to dry said web without curling theedges thereof.

Again, the staggered arrangement of the ports in each transverse seriesblows air downwardly upon the festoons hung over the sticks in a mannerto feed the downtion, what I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. Drying apparatus embodying a housing provided with a chamber open atthe ends for the ingress and egress of web material, means for carryingfestoons of web material adapted for partially closing said ingress andegress ends of the chamber, and means for recirculating a dryingatmosphere within said chamber and downwardly upon the festoons ofmaterial suspended from said carrying means.

2. Drying apparatus embodying a housing provided with a chamber open atthe ends for the ingress and egress ofweb material, carrying means fortransporting festoons of material in open order within a definite lengthofthe chamber and in closer order within another definite length of thechamber, said festoons of material being suspended for partially closingthe ingress to and the egress from said chamber, and means forcirculating a drying atmosphere within the chamber and downwardly uponthe festoons of material suspended therein.

3. Drying apparatus embodying a housing provided with a chamber open atthe ends for the ingress and egress of web material, a conveyer adaptedfor carrying festoons in open order within a definite part of thechamber, another conveyer operating to carry festoons in closer orderwithin another definite part of the chamber, means for.-

circulating a drying atmosphere within said chamber, said circulatingmeans including a flue extending lengthwise of the chamber and above thepath of the conveyer whereby the drying atmosphere is dischargeddownwardly upon the festoons of material suspended from the conveyers.

4. Drying apparatus embodying a housing provided with a chamber open atthe ends for the ingress and egress of web materiaL-a conveyerpositioned within said chamber and operating to transport festoons in 0en order within a definite part of the cham er, mother conveyer adaptedfor carrying festoons in. closer order within another definite part ofthe chamber, means for circulating a drying atmosphere within thechamber and downwardly upon the festoons of the material, and means forconditioning said drying atmosphere as to temperature and humidityduring such circulation.

5. Drying apparatus embodying a housing provided with a chamber open atthe ends for the ingress and egress of web material, a conveyer forcarrying festoons in open order within a definite part of the chamber,another conveyer adapted for carrying fes toons' in closer order withinanother definite part of the chamber, means for discharging from thechamber a certain ortion of moisture laden atmosphere owing therein,means for recirculating within said chamber a definite volume of thehumid atmosphere, and means for conditioning the recirculated atmosphereby mixing fresh atmospheric air therewith. v v

6. Drying apparatus embodying a housing provided with a chamber open atthe ends for the ingress and egress of web material, a conveyer forcarrying festoons in open order within a definite part of the chamber,another conveyer adapted for carryin festoons in closer order withinanother de nite part of the chamber, means for discharging from thechamber a certain volume of moisture laden atmosphere flowing therein,means for recirculating within said chamber a definite volume of heatedand humid atmosphere present therein, means for reheating the dryin'gatmosphere during the recirculation thereof, and means for mixing freshatmospheric air with the drying atmosphere dur- I ing the period ofrecirculating the same.

7. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber open at the ends for the ingressand egress of material in web form, a conveyer for transporting festoonsof such material within said chamber, means for exhausting a dryingatmosphere from the chamber below the festoons suspended therein, andrecirculating means the intake of which is in communication with saidexhausting means at one side of the chamber and the outlet of whichdelivers the recirculated atmosphere downwardly upon the festoons.suspended within said chamber.

8. Drying apparatus embodying a cham-- communication with saidexhausting means at one side of the chamber and the outlet of whichdelivers the recirculated; atmosphere downwardly upon the festofonssuspended within said chamber, and means for heating the recirculateddrying atmosphere in the intervals between its egress gfrom the chamberand its return to said chamber.

9. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber open at the ends for the ingressand egress of material in web form, a conveyer for transporting'festoonsof such material within said chamber, means for exhausting a dryingatmosphere from the chamber at the bottom portion thereof, recirculatingmeans the intake of which is in communication with said exhausting meansat one side of the chamber and the outlet of which delivers therecirculated atmosphere downwardly upon the festoons of materialsuspended within said chamber, and means for mixing fresh air with therecirculated drying atmosphere at a stage between the egress of saidatmos phere from the chamber and the return of the mixed atmosphere tosaid chamber.

10. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber open at the ends for theingress and egress of material in web form, a conveyer for transportingfestooris of suchmaterial within said chamber, means for exhausting adrying'atmosphere from the chamber at' the respective sides thereof,recirculating means the inta-ke'of which is in communication with saidexhausting means at one side of the chamber and the outlet of whichdelivers the recirculated atmosphere downwardly'u on the festoons ofmaterial suspended within said chamber, means formixing freshatmospheric air with the drying atmosphere at a stage between itsegress.

pended therein, and a plurality of heaters of difi'erent heatingcapacity positioned in the line of fiow'of the recirculated dryingatmosphere for heating such atmosphere to different temperatures and forfeeding such atmosphere at varying temperatures into difl'erent dryingzones within said chamber.

12. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber open at the ends for theingress and egress of material in web form, a conveyer for transportingfestoons of such material within said chamber, an exhaust flue incommunication with the chamber at one side thereof, a heating chamberthe outlet of which is a flue positioned for delivering a dryingatmosphere downwardly upon the festoons of'materia-l, heaters withinsaid heating chamber, and a circulating device the intake of which isconnected with the exhaust flue and the outlet of which is connectedwith the heating chamber.

13. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber open at the ends for theingress and egress of material in web form, a conveyer for transportingfestoons of such material within said chamber, an exhaust flue incommunication with the chamber at one side thereof, a heating chamberthe outlet of which is a flue positioned for delivering a dryingatmosphere downwardly upon t'he festoons of material, heaters. withinsaid heating chamber, a circulating device con,-

nected with the exhaust flue and with the heating chamber, and means forfeeding atmospheric air in regulated volumes to said circulating device.7 14. Drying apparatus embodying a cham-' 'ber, means for conveyingmaterial within said chamber, an eduction flue extending len thwise ofthe chamber and in communication therewith for the outflow of acontrollable volume of the drying atmosphere,

a heating chamber the outlet of which is a flue extending above thefirst chamber for delivering a dryingatmosphere downwardly therein, acirculating device connected wit said eduction flue and with the heatingchamber, and means for modifying the con 'dition of the atmospherecirculated within connected with the other eduction delivering a dryingatmosphere downwardly therein, a circulating device connected with saideduction flue and with the heating chamber, means for feeding fresh airinto the atmosphere recirculated by said circulating device, and meanswithin the heating chamber for imparting heat to the. mixture afi'ordedby the drying atmosphere and the fresh air.

16. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, means positioned therein forsupporting material, a heating chamber the out-let of which is a flueextending lengthwise of the first chamber for feeding a dryingatmosphere downwardly therein, a plurality of eduction fiues at. thelower part of said first chamber, each having inlets by which a dryingatmosphere is free to flow out, of the first chamber, means forexhausting one of said-eduction flues, and a circulatin device flue andwith said heating chamber.

17. In a drier, the combination with a chamber, and means for carryingweb material therein, of a curtain positioned in parallel relation tothe path of said :ma-

curtain in operative positions and parallel to the path of saidmaterial, means for feed ing air into the chamber and downwardly uponthe web material therein, and means for exhausting air from the chamberand substantially below the web material therein. i

18. In a drier, the combination with a chamber, a conveyer therein, andmeans for feedin a drying atmosphere into the upper part 0 said chamberand downwardly upon material suspended within said chamber by saidconveyer, of a plurality of curtains positioned in parallel relation tothe path of material suspended from said conveyer, means for supportingeach curtain in shiftable relation to the material, and means forexhaustin the drying atmosphere from said chamber the. intake to saidexhaustin means being below the material suspende within said chamber bythe conveyerr 19. In a drier, the combination with a chamber, and aconveyer, of a curtain rod, a curtain suspended. fromsaid rod andpositioned parallel to the path of the material suspended from saidconveyer,'and a rodsuppoi'ting bracket mounted for movement on avertical axis and operable. for shiftably supporting said rod inparallel relation to the material.

20. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber within which web material iscarried in festoons, means for recirculating a drying atmosphere withinsaid chamber, and heating means for said drying atmosphere, the heatingcapacity of said heating means decreasing in proportion to the decreasein the moisture content of the material under treatment.

'21. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber within which web material iscarried in fest-oons, means for recirculating a drying atmosphere Withinsaid chamber, and differential heating means in the line of flow of thedrying atmosphere during recircula-' chamber, means for recirculating adrying atmosphere within said drying chamber and the heating chambers,and heaters within said heating chambers, said heaters decreasing incapacity for giving off heat units and said heaters acting to imp-art tothe drying atmosphere flowing into the different zones of the dryingchamber temperatures which decrease proportionately to the decrease inthe moisture content of the material under treatment.

23. Drying apparatus embodying a-chamber, means for carrying within adefinite part of said chamber a web the festoons of which are relativelyseparated-by intervals of appreciable width, other means for carryingwithin another definite part of said chamber a web with festoonsseparated by intervals of less appreciable width than the festoons firstmentioned, in combination with means for feeding air into said chamberand downwardly upon said festoons of the web, and exhausting means theintake of which is in communication with the chamber below the festoonsof said web.

24. Drying apparatus embodying a chamher, web carriers operating tosuspend festoons in widely separated order within a definite part of thechamber and to suspend festoons in closer relation to each other with;in another definite portion of said chamber, means for blowing airdownwardly upon the festoons of said web and exhausting means the intaketo which is in communication with the chamber below the festoonssuspended from said web carriers.

25. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, means for carrying a web thefestoons' 'of which are relatively separated by intervals which vary inwidth whereby the festoons in one part of the chamber are more closelydisposed than are'the festo/ons in another part of said chamber, meansfor feeding air to the chamber and downwardly upon the festoons,exhausting air the intake to which is in communication with said chamberbelow the path of the web, and means for defining the'downflowing airsubstantially within the limits of said web.

- 26. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a carrier operating tosuspend a web the festoons of which within one part of the chamber aremore closely disposed to each other than are the festoons in. anotherpart.

of the chamber, means for feeding air downwardly upon the web, and meansfor exhausting air the intake to which is in communication with thelower part of said chamber; and substantially below the path of said we27. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a plurality of stick conveyersoperable for transferring sticks from one conveyer to the other conveyerand said sticks being relatively spaced for the suspension of a web thefestoons of which are positioned in closer. order to each other belowone conveyer than are the festoons suspended below the other conveyer,means for feeding air into the chamber and downwardly upon the web,means for exhausting air, the intake to which is in communication withthe chamber substantially below the path of said Web, and means forconfining the downflowing air substantially within the limits of saidweb.

28'. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a carrier for movingsuspended festoons of a web within said chamber, means for feeding airdownwardly upon said'web festoons, means adjacent the suspended festoonsfor confining the downwardly flowing air within the limits of saidfestoons, and exhausting means the intake to which is in communicationwith the chamber substan tially below'the path of said web. 1

29. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a carrier for moving suspendedfestoons of a web" within said cham er, means for feeding air downwardlyupon said festoons, a plurality of curtains positioned adjacent the pathof said web, one of said curtains being shiftable laterally withreference to the path of the web and substantially free from contacttherewith, and exhausting means the intake to which is in communicationwith thechamber and in such relation thereto as to exhaust air from thefestoon's of the web and from said chamber.

31. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a carrier for moving suspendedfestoons of a 'web within said chamber, means for feeding air downwardlyupon said festoons, a plurality of curtains positioned adjacent the pathof said web and in parallel relation thereto, each of said curtainsbeing shiftable laterally with.respect to the path of the web, andexhausting means the intake to which is in communication with thechamber substantially at the lower part thereof and adjacent thefestoons suspended therein.

32. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a-carrier for moving festoonsof a web within said chamber, means for feeding air downwardly upon saidweb, exhausting means below the path of said web, and means intermediatethe air feeding means and the exhausting means for confining thedownwardly flowing air within the limits .of said festoons.

33. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a carrier for moving festoonsof a web within said chamber, means for exhausting air below thefestoons of said web, and a plurality of curtains positioned adjacentthe path of said festoons, said curtains being intermediate the airfeeding means and the air exhausting means for confining the downwardlyflowing air substantially within the limits of the said festoons.

34. Drying apparatus embodying a charm her, a carrier for movingsuspended festoons of a web within said chamber, means for.

feeding and distributing air to secure a downward flow intermediate thefestoons and for substantially width of said web, and means forexhaust'ng air below said festoons of the web.

35. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, a carrier for moving suspendedfestoons of a web within said chamber, means for feeding anddistributing air to secure a downward flow intermediate the festoons andfor substantially the width of said web, and means for confining thedownwardly flowing air within tb limits of said festoons,

36. Drying appara'us embodying a chain her, a carrier for mo g suspendedfestoons of a web within said chamber, means for feeding anddistributing air to secure a downward ilow intermediate the lest/consand for substantially the width said web, means for confining he flowingair substantially wi nin the limits oi the suspended festoons, means forexhaust ing air below said suspended festoons.

3?. Drying apparaus embodying a her, a carrier for moving suspendedfestoons of a web within chamber, means for Fe ding and distributing irto secure downward flow for substantially t said web, and air channe L In said chamber and tree said suspended festoons and positioned adjacentthe path of said web for confining the downwardly flowing airsubstantially within the limits of said festoonsf 38. Drying apparatusembodying a chamber, a carrier for moving suspended festoons of a webwithin said chamber, and air recirculating means the intake of which isbelow the suspended festoons and the outlet from which feeds airdownwardly upon the web, and means for conditioning the recirculated airby the admixture therewith of fresh air supplied to the recirculated airat a point exteriorly of the chamber.

39. Drying apparatus embodying a chamher, a carrier for moving suspendedfestoons of a web within said chamber, air recirculating means theintake of which is below the suspended festoons and the outlet fromwhich feeds air downwardly upon the web, and means for boosting therecirculated air by heating the same intermediate the intake to and theoutlet from said recirculating means.

40. ing apparatus embodying a chamher, a carrier for moving suspendedfestoons of a web within said chamber, air recirculating means theintake of which is supplied with air from said chamber below thefestoons and the outlet of which feeds air downwardly upon the web,means for conditioning the recirculated air by the mixture therewith orfresh air supplied to the recirculated air at a point exteriorly of thechamher, and means for heating the air as it is recirculated andconditioned.

d1. lin the art of drying and conditioning material web form, theprocess which consists in feeding air downwardly upon suspended festoonsof the web, exhausting moist air laterally from the bottoms of saidfest-oons, and confining the downwardly flowing air substantially withinthe limits of said suspended festoons.

42. In the art of drying and conditioning paper in web form, the processwhich consists in moving a web suspended in -lestoons within asubstantially closed chamber, blowing air downwardly within the festoonsand for substantially the width of the web, and confining the downwardlyflowing air substantially within the width of the festoons and forsubstantially the depth thereof,

l3. in the art oi drying and conditioning paper in web form, processwhich consists in moving a web suspended in leetoons within asubstantially closed chamber, blowing air downwardly within the iestoons, confining e downwa' y flowing air within the wit n of the weband for tially the c 1 oi the i testoons, exhausta-ir laterally from thebottoms of said stoons,

r and co oning paper in webform, the process which consists in carryingaapaper web suspended in festoons within a'substantially closed chamber,blowing downwardly upon said web a drying atmosphere the humidity ofwhich is modified by the admixture of fresh air with moist air drawnfrom said chamber, dividing the drying atmosphere into separate currentsadapted to flow into different regions of the chamber, and heating theseparate currents of the drying atmosphere to difierent temperaturessuited to the moisture content of .the material under treatment prior toflowing said difi'erent currents into contact'wi'th the web in differentregions of said chamber.

45. In ,the art of drying and conditioning paper in web form, theprocess which consists in carrying a paper web suspended in festoonswithin a substantially closed chamber, distributing for substantiallythe width of the web and blowin downwardly thereon a dryin atmosphere te humidity of which is modified by mixing fresh air with moist air drawnfrom said chamber, dividing the drying atmosphere into separate streamsor currents, and separately heating the streams to temperatures whichdecrease in propor tion to a decrease in the moisture content of theweb.

46. In the art of drying and conditioning material in web form, theprocess which consists in moving a web suspended in festoons within asubstantially closed chamber, distributing air for substantially thewidth of the web, and exhausting air below the web for carrying moistair away from the presen'ce of said web.

47. In the art of drying and conditioning material in web form, theprocess which consists in moving a web suspended in festoons within asubstantially closed chamber, and feeding and distributing air forsubstantially the width of, and downwardly upon, said web.

48. In the art of drying and conditionin material in Web form, theprocess whic consists in moving a. web suspended in festoons within asubstantially closed chamber, 7

feeding air downwardly into contact with the web'and for substantiallythe width of said web, whereby air is distributed for contact with theweb throughout the Width thereof, and exhausting air from the bottom [ofthe festoons.

ing the separate streams of air to progressively increasing temperatureswhereby the separate and differently heated streams are Web.

adapted for contact with difl'erent portions of the web according to themoisture content of such web.

50. In the art of drying and conditioning material in web form, theprocess which consists in moving within a substantially closed chamber aweb of material suspended in festoons and the moisture content of whichweb is decreased proportionately to the advance of said web intodifferent regions of the chamber, and circulating difi'erent streams ofa drying atmosphere into contact the web, the temperature of saiddifferent streams ofthe drying atmosphere'decreasing in proportion to adecrease in the moisture content in the different portions of said 51.Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, means for moving therein a websuspended infestoons, and means for feeding air downwardly upon saidweb, said feeding means includin ports extending in a plurality ofseries longitudinally over the path of said web.

52. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, means for moving therein a Websuspended in festoon's, and means for feeding air downwardly upon saidweb, said feeding means including ports positioned in sta geiied ordertransversely to the path of said we 53. Drying apparatus embodying achamas I ber,- means for moving therein a web susi -web, said ports inadjacent longitudinal series being in disalined relation one to theother in a direction crosswise of the path of the web. 55. Dryingapparatus embodying a-chamber, means for moving therein a web. suspendedin festoons, and means for feeding air downwardly upon said web, saidair feeding means including ports in staggered order to each other in adirection crosswise of the path of said web. 1

56. Drying apparatus embodying a chamber, means for moving. therein aWeb suspendedin festoons, means for circulating a drying atmospheredivided into separate streams and flowing downwardly upon the web withinseparate regions of said chamher, and differential heating means wherebythe separate streams are heated to temperatures varying according to themoisture content of the web contained within said means whereby saiddivided streams are separate regions of the chamber. heated to differenttemperatures prior to 57. Drying apparatus embodying a chamflowing intocontact with the web present her, means for moving therein a websuswithin said different regions ofthe chamber.

5 pended in festodns, means for circulating a In testimony whereof Ihave hereto signed drying atmosphere divided into separate my name this'24th day of February, 1922. streams and delivered into difi'erentregions7 of said chamber, and differential heating GORDON D. HARRIS.

